BARGARH: Bargarh police took 43 farmers into preventive custody on Monday to prevent the ‘rail roko’ protest planned by Bheden Krushak Sangathan over pending insurance claims and input subsidies. The farmers were detained at Bargarh police reserve for over 12 hours before being released in the evening.
The ‘rail roko’ protest was planned by farmers after discussions with the district administration over quick disbursal of insurance money for crop loss due to cyclone Michaung in 2023, failed to yield results.
The agitators claimed that the insurance company was supposed to disburse crop damage claims of Rs 128 crore to 56,000 farmers across Bargarh. However, only Rs 23 crore was disbursed to 30,000 farmers. Over 30 per cent farmers who are yet to receive the insurance money are from Bheden.
The farmers further alleged that crop loss assessment should be completed within 10 to 12 days and the compensation amount disbursed within 15 days. However, they are yet to get their insurance money even after a year.
Similarly, the input subsidy announced by the administration reportedly did not reach many farmers. The agitators said Bargarh collector Aditya Goyal reported that Rs 58 crore was allocated for farmers who suffered losses. However, only Rs 44 lakh was actually disbursed.
On March 2, farmer leaders met district officials in Bheden to discuss the issue. Another meeting was held on March 5 in Bargarh, which was attended by the sub-collector and local MLA. The administration reportedly assured the farmers that their demands would be met by March 9.
Sources said the rail roko protest was planned as the farmers didn’t receive their money by March 9. However, the farmers were taken into preventive custody and heavy police deployment was made to stop any attempt to block the railway tracks.
Following their release from custody, over 500 farmers took out a massive procession in Bheden block protesting the police action. Farmer leader Ramesh Mahapatra said, “We were staging protest in a peaceful manner and had also informed the administration about it. However, our protest was sabotaged. If our demands are not met soon, the agitation will be intensified.”